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Angels closer Ernesto Frieri allowed a sacrifice fly in the ninth but managed to secure a four-out save Sunday afternoon against the White Sox.

Frieri endured a shaky outing as he walked three and did not surrender a hit, allowing one run over 1 1/3 innings of work. His ERA went grew to 2.25 after picking up his ninth save of the season. Frieri has allowed one run in each of his last two appearances.

White Sox starter Jake Peavy wasn't at his best Sunday in Anaheim. Peavy took the loss against Jason Vargas and the Angels to fall to 5-2 on the year.

The Chicago starter surrendered just four hits, but walked five batters, as he gave up four earned runs over six innings. He gave up a two-run double to Chris Iannetta in the third inning, and walked home two runs in the fourth.

Peavy struck out seven over his 117 pitches, but his command was not where he'd like it as his ERA grew to 3.31. Peavy snapped a string of four consecutive winning decisions over his previous five outings Sunday. He should bounce back and his next scheduled start comes Saturday against Miami.

Angels starter Jason Vargas pitched seven shutout innings on Sunday during a win over the White Sox. Vargas threw 114 pitches over his seven innings and he earned the win to improve to .500 at 3-3 on the year.

Vargas gave up just four base hits all afternoon as he walked three and struck out six batters in the win. He lowered his ERA to 3.55 as he won his second straight start and earned his third winning decision in his last four outings.

Vargas has really turned things around since starting 0-3 with a 4.85 ERA after his first five outings. He's gone 3-0 since over four starts with seven runs allowed spanning 28 2/3 innings with 23 Ks.

The suddenly rolling Vargas will look to make it four straight winning decisions when he next takes the ball Friday in Kansas City. 

The Athletics gave closer Grant Balfour a breather and rolled with reliever Ryan Cook in the final inning of Sunday's contest against the Royals.

Cook worked his way around back-to-back singles as he pitched a scoreless ninth inning to secure his first save of the season. His ERA went down to 1.74 after a 4-3 win.

Athletics starting pitcher A.J. Griffin was effective but did not factor into the decision Sunday afternoon against the Royals.

Griffin, who made his ninth start of the season, surrendered three runs and seven hits over six innings of work. He struck out five and walked three and had his ERA rise to 3.59 after Sunday's 4-3 win.

Griffin has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his last four starts. He has allowed eight runs over 26 2/3 innings during that stretch. He is scheduled to make his next start Saturday at Houston. He gave up two runs and struck out eight over six innings in his last meeting against the Astros on April 16.

Royals pitcher Luis Mendoza turned in a solid performance but did not factor into the decision Sunday afternoon against the Athletics.

Mendoza, who made his sixth start of the season, allowed a run-scoring single to Jed Lowrie in the fifth and allowed two sacrifice flies. He was charged with three runs and eight hits over six innings of work. He struck out four and did not issue a walk in a 4-3 defeat.

Mendoza is scheduled to make his next start Friday at home against the Angels. He is 0-1 with a whopping 12.10 ERA in two starts at home.

Mets rookie Juan Lagares hit first major league homer Sunday against the Cubs, a tying, two-run drive in the seventh inning against Cubs starter Travis Wood. He had his second double in the game as well.

The home run provided the first RBI of Lagares' career and he also had his first multi-hit game. Lagares came into the contest batting .139 (5 for 36) in his first 17 games.

Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada ended his multi-hit slump at 10 games Sunday against the Cubs by going 2 for 4. He added one run.

Tejada came into the game mired in a 3-for-36 slump, which dropped his season average from .252 to .211. He's now hitting .219 after 41 games.

Reds starter Homer Bailey took a no decision despite seven shutout innings Sunday against Philadelphia.

Bailey allowed just five hits and a walk over his seven innings and struck out three, but Jonathan Broxton and Aroldis Chapman each gave up runs en route to a Phillies ninth inning comeback. Bailey's ERA fell to 3.09.

Reds outfielder Jay Bruce hit his fifth home run in Sunday's loss to Philadelphia.

The home run, a solo shot, was Bruce's only hit of the day. His line sits at .279/.323/.458. Bruce has not posted a slugging percentage below .470 since his rookie year in 2008.